headlight bulb

[themoog]

I had a 'check low beam bulb' message on the dash today. Sure enough, the driver side light was purple and not white like the other side. I took the bulb out expecting to find a H7 but it has Philips D2S funny looking bulbs.
A quick check found them to be a tad expensive at £40-50. Ebay is littered with cheaper ones but are they om to use? It can't be any different to using a cheap tube in a fluorescent light at home can it..?

[X5Sport]

The bulb is actually a high pressure gas filled electric arc light, or High Intensity Discharge (HID) aka Xenon light.

Very different from anything domestic!  They run on 18,000V for a start before dropping to 85V once ignited.

The eBay versions are not recommended as they may have incorrect design flaws.  Often they present shorter service lives than you should get.  If the Seller is reputable then the lamp should be OK, but many are Chinese copies and rubbish.  OEM bulbs are being copied and sold as genuine for very low prices so beware!  If it looks like a bargain at £25 it's not likely to be.

If one has failed then it is likely the other is approaching the end of its life too so probably worth changing them as a pair.

HIDS Direct, Powerbulbs, Halfords, HIDS4U and even Amazon are all possible alternative bulb sources.  I think OEM are either Philips or Osram.  If DIY then do not touch or bang the glass area.  These bulbs will explode if mishandled, and make sure the light switch is off, not on Auto!

There is also a possibility that the control box - ballast - for that lamp may be affected so be prepared to gave to change one of those too.

These lamps are significantly cheaper than they were when fitted 10 or more years ago.  The bulbs were at least 3x the price back then.

[themoog]

I dont know about carefull handling as I dropped it when I took it out... It didnt break but was still purple when it went back in.
I may try Halfords tomorrow.

[X5Sport]

You got away lightly then.  One of my colleagues had a bulb explode whilst still in place and the whole headlight is having to be replaced because it wrecked the adaptive light unit system!  Fortunately it's under warranty.

Might be worth a side to side swap as that will tell you if it's the bulb or ballast.

[themoog]

Good idea. I didnt notice a ballast unit so ill take a look and swap them around.

[Horizon]

Not sure, but read somewhere that ballasts are integral to the headlight unit.

[X5Sport]

Depends upon the bulb type.  D3S are definitely like that, but D1S and D2S aren't.  D3S have a big cube at the base which contains the igniter circuitry.

[themoog]

Well i quickly swapped a bulb from the other car into mine and it was ok. Bulb it is then. I have found a pair of  Osram Xenarc for about £70 where as 1 Philips is circa £60-70. Has anyone used the Osrams?

[X5Sport]

I'm looking at using the D3S Xenarc variant in my car (Skoda not BMW).  The 'Nightbreaker Ultimate' version of it came top in Autoexpress recently with the Philips one just behind.  Brighter and a better beam.  Slightly higher colour temp so very slightly whiter.

Only buy from a reputable source as this is one of the lamps being passed off as genuine, but is fake.  Very low price is the clue.

[themoog]

Got some today from powerbulbs. £69 for 2. 20% off.

[themoog]

What a chuffin game... The driver side bulb, easy. The ns light has to come out as oil filter etc is in the way. To access one of the lower screws I had to unplug the side light. The whole thing came out and I thought That's odd, no bulb'. However, I put everything back together and turned the lights on. The chuffin indicator was on but not the side light. I looked in the light and I could see the small bulb at the bottom inside behind the glass.. A bit of fishing with my magnet just managed to retrieve it and I put it all back together again. Ok now.
I have never known such fannying aroud just to swap headlight bulbs.
There is no difference in light output or brightness from the Osrams over the Philips by the way..

[X5Sport]

Interesting....and it's a pain!  Later versions have even trickier access.

A set of comments running on the Skoda forums says the same with only marginal differences but a bit of 'burning in' is needed, though just how much real difference that might make is debatable - apart from the colour settling.

[Greydog]

Car designers and manufacturers have lost the way a little in this respect"Form seems to rule Function" rather than thought given to items that may need regular maintenance.

Renault were in bother a few years back with one of their models needing a wing removed to allow the headlamp access??
My son is a Toyota fan raved about how reliable they are until he found out you have to remove the front bumper to remove the headlamp so you can access the duff lamps?